Shoe heel with rotatable lift



Nov. 18, 1969 J. F. GILLEAD SHOE HEEL WITH ROTATABLE LIFT Filed May 2'7, 1968 FIGJ m ll

INVENTOR. J. FOSTER GILLEAD BY W444 mm W AGENTS United States Patent U.S. Cl. 36-36 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pin on the base portion of a heel is rotatably retained in a corresponding bore of the lift portion by a wire spring of open annular shape partly received in respective annular grooves of the walls of the bore and of the pin, and the pin may be withdrawn when the spring is deflected into the groove of the lift portion by an obliquely inclined cam face which bounds the groove of the base portion. A click stop arrangement arrests the lift portion in several angular positions under the pressure of the spring on the cam face.

Background of the invention This invention relates to footware, and particularly to a heel for a piece of footwear which has a rotatable lift portion.

The exposed bottom portion or lift of a shoe or other piece of footwear is subject to relatively rapid wear, and is not normally worn uniformly. The outer rear corner of the lift usually wears much faster than the remainder of the lift. It was proposed heretofore to mount the lift rotatably on the base portion of the heel so that the useful life of the lift be increased by sequentially exposing different portions or the lift in the region of greatest wear.-'

The known devices have not found commercial acceptance. Some are too complex, and therefore too costly for the intended use. Others are unsatisfactory in theirperformance. The primary object of this invention is the provision of a heel with rotatable lift portion which is simple enough to be practical, yet sturdy and reliable in its operation.

Summary of the invention The heel of the invention is provided with a pin on the base or lift portion, the other portion being formed with a bore releasably receiving the pin for relative rotation of the two portions about an axis. The pin and the other heel portion have respective, opposite, axial walls formed with recesses in a common plane transverse of the axis. A yieldably resilient locking member has respective parts received in the recesses. The locking member is dimensioned to permit axial withdrawal of the pin from the bore when the locking member is deflected out of the bore in one of the afore-mentioned axial walls, this wall having a cam face obliquely inclined to the axis of rotation and positioned to deflect the locking member out of its recess when the pin member is axially withdrawn from the bore.

Other features, additional objects, and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will readily be appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a shoe equipped with a heel of the invention in fragmentary side-elevation, portions of the heel being broken away to reveal internal structure;

FIG. 2. shows the disengaged portions of the heel of FIG. 1 in a corresponding view; and

FIG. 3 illustrates the heel of FIG. 1 in sectional plan view on the line III-III.

Patented Nov. 18, 1969 Description of the preferred embodiment The drawing shows an otherwise conventional shoe 10 carrying the heel 12 of the invention. The flat, cylindrical base portion 14 of the heel is directly cemented or nailed to the underside of the shoe 10' in a conventional manner, not shown in detail.

The base portion 14 carries a downwardly extending pin 16 which is normally received in a central, axial bore 18 of the lift portion 20 which is also cylindrical. The outer cylindrical wall 22 of the pin 16 has an annular groove 24 in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the pin. As is best seen in FIG. 2, the groove 24 is circularly arcuate in section on an axial plane, the bottom 26 of the groove extending over an arc of less than so that the groove bottom meets the wall 22 at obtuse angles.

The inner wall 28 of the bore 18 is provided with a groove 30 which is normally in a common radial plane with the groove 24 and loosely holds a major portion of a heavy, round wire spring 32 having the open annular shape of a circumferential portion of a tore. The spring is so dimensioned that it partly extends into the groove 24 in its most relaxed condition when the pin 16 is fully received in the bore 18. The spring 32 normally abuts against the obliquely inclined face of the groove bottom 26, but may be deflected entirely into the groove 30 by camming engagement with the oblique face of the groove bottom 26, when the pin 14 is pulled upwardly out of the bore 18 against the restraint of the spring 32.

The normally contiguous, circular faces 34, 36 of the heel portions 14, 20 are equipped with a click stop arrangement for releasably arresting the lift portion in several angular positions on the base portion. Eight shallow depressions 38 equiangularly spaced about the axis of rotation in the transverse face 36 of the lift portion 20 may be engaged by two diametrically opposite hemispherical projections 40 on the face 34 of the base portion 14. The projections are normally held in engagement with corresponding depressions 38 by the pressure of the spring 32 against the annular cam face of the groove bottom 26.

Although the spring 32 is stiff enough to prevent turning of the lift portion 20 on the pin 16 and axial movement of the lift portion relative to the :pin under normal operating conditions, the lift portion 14 may be turned manually against the restraint of the spring 32. The camming engagement of the projections -40 with the walls of the depressions 38 causes the faces 34, 36 to separate when the lift portion 20 is turned, thus permitting a screw driver or an edge of a shoe horn to be inserted in the resulting gap. When the faces 34, 36 are then pried wider apart by the tool employed, the spring 32 is expanded by the cam face of the groove 24 until it is substantially completely received in the groove 30 so that the entire lift portion 14 may be released for repair or replacement when it is worn down. The repaired lift portion 14 or an identical replacement is readily inserted by hand, a c'hamfered edge 42 at the free end of the pin 16 causing the spring 32 to expand during the assembly operation.

The heel of my invention may be constructed from the materials commonly employed in the shoe industry, such as leather, wood, plastic, or light metal. The specific embodiment illustrated consists of two integral light metal castings 14, 20 machined to form the grooves 24, 30, the steel spring 32, and a top lift 44 of rubber cemented to the bottom face of the lift portion 20. Other materials and combinations of materials are obviously suitable for the heel of the invention. The use of a metallic pin 16 and of a metallic liner in the bore 18 is specifically contemplated when the base and lift portions consist of softer material.

If so desired, the positions of the pin and of the bore may be interchanged so that the pin projects from the lift portion into a bore of the base portion. Similarly, the grooves 24, 30 and the spring 32 may be dimensioned otherwise than shown so that the spring 32 remains attached to the pin 16 when the portions 14, 20 are separated.

If so desired, the cylindrical base and heel portions may be enveloped in part by stationary elements depending from the shoe for modifying the appearance of the heel arrangement. Other modifications and variations will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art since only a preferred embodiment has been illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

1. A heel for a piece of footwear comprising, in combination:

(a) a base portion adapted to be fastened to the un derside of said piece of footwear;

(b) alift portion;

(c) a pin member on one of said portions, the other portion being formed with a bore releasably receiving said pin member for relative rotation of said portions about an axis, said pin member and said other portion having respective opposite axial walls in said bore, said walls being formed with respective recesses in a common plane transverse of said axis;

((1) a yieldably resilient locking member having respective parts normally received in said recesses,

.(1) said locking member being dimensioned for being resiliently deflected out of the recess in one of said walls and received in its entirety in the recess of the other wall to permit axial withdrawal of said pin member from said bore.

(2) said one wall having a cam face obliquely inclined to said axis and positioned to deflect said locking member out of the recess in said one wall when said pin member is withdrawn from said bore.

2. A heel as set forth in claim 1, wherein said walls are of substantially circular cross section, said recesses are grooves elongated in said common plane, and said locking member is an elongated spring, said cam face bounding the groove in said one wall.

3. A heel as set forth in claim 2, wherein said spring has the shape of a circumferential portion of a tore about said axis.

4. A heel as set forth in claim 3, wherein said one portion is said base portion.

5. A heel as set forth in claim 3, further comprising cooperating click stop means on said portions for releasably arresting said portions in a plurality of angular positions relative to said axis.

6. A heel as set forth in claim 1, wherein said portions have respective opposite faces transverse of said axis, one of said transverse faces being formed with a plurality of spaced depressions equidistant from said axis, and a projection on the other transverse face engageable with each of said depressions by angular displacement of said portions relative to each other about said axis, said projection being biased inward of the engaged projection by camming cooperation of said locking member with said cam face.

7. A heel as set forth in claim 6, wherein said projection tapers inward of the engaged depression in said one transverse face, whereby said transverse faces are caused to separate in the direction of said axis when said portions are turned relative to each other about said axis.

8. A heel as set forth in claim 1, wherein said axial walls essentially consist of leather, wood, plastic, or light metal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,518,875 12/1924 Redman 36-39 1,585,220 5/1926 Willis 3639 2,300,635 11/1942 Shepherd 3636 3,267,592 8/1966 Champion 3639 X 3,351,967 11/1967 Dardig 36-36 X ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 36-39 

